UNICEF Voices of Youth & The Guardian Advertisement Contest

Vine and Instagram videos may be short but they can send a powerful message. Get creative.

Marketing & advertising to children (and youth) is a growing
business in many parts of the world attracting increasing
attention from parents, regulators, business and civil society.

Children often have unsupervised access to numerous forms of
media: we see advertisements all the time through the T.V.,
radio, the internet, and even our social media networks. And
there are growing concerns about the effects of marketing on
children’s physical and mental health. Inappropriate advertising
can also have negative influences on children’s behaviour and
self-esteem.

Marketing & Advertising to Children often gets a bad
reputation. But, does it have to?

Now we are collaborating once again with The Guardian to bring
you another contest - we want you to show us how the marketing
& advertising world could be transformed.

What do we mean by that?

Well we want you to tell us what you think advertising that is
socially-aware or socially-conscious should look like? It should
be based on the idea that market offerings must not be only
profit-driven, but they must also reinforce social and ethical
values for the benefit of citizens. So how could advertising and
marketing be focused not only on selling a product or service,
but be respectful of your rights as children?

What’s the contest about?

UNICEF and The Guardian newspaper regularly produce special
features about the role that business can or should play in
realising the rights of children: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/child-rights-business.
These features look at issues such as corporate social
responsibility programmes and they showcase good examples from
around the world. For the next feature – which will be published
on The Guardian online at the end of February– UNICEF and The
Guardian want to hear your views on marketing & advertising
to children.

How?

Choose a product – it could be a food item, a clothing item, or
anything else you use in your daily life. We kindly ask that you
do not use or show any brand names in the advertisement. Next, we
want you to make a Vine or Instagram video which shows what a
socially-conscious advertisement for this product would be.

We won't discriminate against Vine or Instagram- whichever you
prefer is up to you! Jump, skip, #loop, sing your
advertisement...it's your creation!

We’re not going to tell you more than that - we want you to
interpret the idea for yourself.

By sharing your creative thinking on UNICEF’s global youth
community – Voices of Youth – the best entry will be published
on-line.

So you stand the chance to be published in this next special
feature!

Do you have any tips for me?

We are looking for your personal views and opinions on this
issue Think of advertisements you have seen in the past and how you
would change it to make it your own. Get creative – act out a
scenario with your friends (get their permission) or make an
animation. Remember Vine and Instagram videos are very short. Try
to plan your video by coming up with a plan of what you’ll shoot
and in what order.

What do I need to know to participate?

A smartphone/A phone with a video camera Either a Vine or
Instragram account One product, no brand names please! Your video
needs to be in English, IF you are talking. Subtitles are
welcome! You must be 24 years old or younger. Your name, age, and
location will be published in The Guardian All entries must be
original ideas.

Make your video and upload it to your Vine or Instagram account
– tell your friends what you’re doing to spread the word. To submit
your entry, go to www.voicesofyouth.org. Click on “sign up.” Follow
the instructions to create an account. Once you have created an
account, click on the blue icon “Create a Post.” Choose your type
of post as a “Video” because you will be embedding your Vine and
Instagram video Once you have uploaded your Vine or Instagram to
your Social Media account, be sure to copy and paste the url into
“Media URL” to embed your socially aware advertisement into your
post. For more detailed instruction, you can always refer back to
this page: http://bit.ly/1d3oUn1 Please tag your article:
Guardian Entry If you want to include an explanation about your
video you can write it below your video.

At the end of your post please write your name, your age, and
where you are from. Also include your email address – we will NOT
publish it but we need to have it in case we need to contact
you.